The Washington critic., 1887-07-06
MURDERED BY ROUGHS.
An ARRAY Between Trainmen and I'm
ruly Passengers.

An Aurhy betWeen lrhlnuen anu IN
ruly Passengers.
George Werteubaker, q brakeman on the
Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railroad,
was killed In fight on his train with Ave
drunken rougbs about O'Clock last night
Wesley, Douglass, Alfred and VIII Kid
well, four brothers, and Albert Barret made
up the drunken mob that got on the train at
Alexandria last evening. The train people
feared trouble with the men and refused to
let them get on at first, but after some con-
versation, in which two Alexandria police
men engaged, they were suffered to get on,
with the promise that they would conduct
Themselves properly.
The first unruly thing they did was to
enter the passenger coach with their lighted
cigars. The crew Of the train was composed
Of Conductor II. J. Myers, Engineer J. l..
Davis and Baggagemaster s. Garnett, and
the usual complement of brakemen, among
whom was the murdered brakeman.
The men finally. went into the smoker
and occupied the forward seats. When he
began to collect tickets, the train having
reached st. Asaph's junction, one OF them
said: "Here are your Cd d--n tickots."
He stopped the train to eject them, be-
cause 1t is against the rules to carry disord.
Garrett, the baggage master, and they took
hold Of one Of the roughs and got him of.
The other four then showed fight aud they
were all on the ground In heap In very
short time. A desperate fight ensued be.
tween the trainmen and the roughs, during
which q stone was thrown by one Of the
elected parties, and 1t struck Wertenbaker
in the abdomen. LIE managed to get inside
OF the car, but he died In few minutes.
His dead body was deposited In the depot
in this city, and Officer Acton ran to Police
Headquarters and telephoncd an account OF
the murder to the Alexandria authorities,
giving them their first Information Of the
murder. Acton, Sergeant Hollenberger and
Detectives Mattingly and Wheeler and Pri-
Yates Kenny and Perry took train for the
scene Of the fight
AS soon as the news reached Alexandria
Officers Pat Hayes, Bentz and Simpson
started for st. Asaph's. They were in
formed that the men went in the direction
of Washington, taking the canal. They
came In sight OF the men near Waterloo, and
after covering them with their pistols, sue
ceeded in arresting four Of them. The ar
rests were made Just as the train with the
Washington police arrived. The engineer,
seeing the Alexandria police, stopped his
train at the point where the arrests were
made. The prisoners are extremely youth
fnl, the Oldest being hardly 81 years OF age:
Kidwell, II years old, is supposed to be the
one who hurled the fatal stone. The men
are all employed by the National Pressed
Brick Company. The police afterward
found Wesley Kidwell asleep in bed In the
neighborhood of the brick company's
yards, and arrested him. They are all
locked up in Alexandria.
The police in this city arrested young
man named John b. Fields, who was coming
over the Long Bridge last night with his
face covered with blood. He said he was
kicked by mule. lie has been released.
The deceased brakeman lived at No. l6 |
street northeast, and had been employed on
the road about nine months. He was rela-
tive OF Colonel Wertenbaker Of the Third
Virginia Regiment.
An Alexandria special to The CRITIC to-
day says: "The city is agtated over the
murder OF last night, and all express the
deepest regret that Mr.. Wertenbaker should
be the victim Of so tragic and brutal an af-
fair. The five men arrested will probably
be turned over to the Alexandria County
authorities for trial, as the murder was done
within the limits OF that county. The men
refuse to say anything In connection with
the matter, having been cautioned by their
legal counsel to remain quiet, and not to
answer questions of any sort pertaining to
the murder. The remains were brought
here this morning, and the inquest was be-
gun at 1880"